Shutdown in Valley to mark Afzal Guru’s 6th death anniversary
SRINAGAR : A shutdown was observed in Kashmir valley on a call by separatists to mark the sixth death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru, who was hanged in Tihar jail on this day in 2013.
Shops and other business establishments remained closed and train services between Banihal and Baramulla were also suspended.
Several separatist leaders including Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani were placed under house arrest to prevent them from holding any protest marches ahead of the death anniversaries of Afzal Guru and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front founder, Maqbool Bhat.
Additional troops were deployed in Sopore town to prevent untoward incidents. Some separatist leaders were detained as they tried to visit the native village of Guru in Sopore.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq tweeted about arrest of separatist leadership in Kashmir. “As Martyrdom anniversaries of #ShaheedAfzalGuru and #ShaheedMaqboolBhat are being observed on 9th and 11 feb authorities have started crackdown on resistance leaders and activists, I have been just put placed under #HouseArrest,” Mirwaiz wrote.
Separatists Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), consisting of both factions of Hurriyat Conference and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), called for the shutdown to press for their demand that mortal remains of both Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat be returned for burial in Kashmir. A function was held at Afzal Guru’s native village in Sopore, where speakers demanded that the body of Guru, which is buried in Tihar jail should be handed over to his family. Guru was hanged and buried inside New Delhi’s Tihar jail on February 9, 2013.